Chirality and domain growth in the gyroid mesophase

Abstract

We describe the first dynamical simulations of domain growth during the self-assembly of the gyroid mesophase from a ternary amphiphilic mixture, using the lattice Boltzmann method. The gyroid is a chiral structure; we demonstrate that, for a symmetric amphiphile with no innate preference for left- or right-handed morphologies, the self-assembly process may give rise to a racemic mixture of domains. We use measurements of the averaged mean curvature to analyse the behaviour of domain walls, and suggest that diffusive domain growth may be present in this system.